jennifer duffy says this about o'donnell's problems. >> the tea party came out of nowhere and there is no organization and no hierarchy, so they are backing candidates that they never vetted. >> reporter: but what about any lasting damage? i asked cn senior political editor mark preston. do these problems hurt them at the polls right now? >> look at each race separately. in illinois, the fact that mark kirk acknowledged the flubs months ago show he has gotten over it and that is a tight race and not hurting him. move up to connecticut the reason that linda mcmahon is moving up on bloomenthal is not because of the vietnam record, but because she is a successful businesswoman. and in delaware, many people don't think she is a good candidate whether she has misstated her history and past. >> reporter: questions about backgrounds are not restricted to candidates themselves. in new york, carl pal dino gubernatorial campaign is dealing with a report in "the new york times" that four of the campaign aides were either accused of financial misconduct or other brushes with the law. we tried the